Privatisation of public entities affects reservation in jobs, says Pinarayi Vijayan

Privatisation of public sector undertakings was causing a setback to those eligible for reservation in employment, and the issue has to be looked into with due seriousness, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Sunday (March 15). He was inaugurating the 55th State Conference of the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS).

The Chief Minister said that Kerala was focussing on development based on social justice, even as the experience in other parts of the State was different.

He said Kerala could emerge as a model against caste-based discrimination because the nationalist movement and the progressive Left movement ensured a continuity to the renaissance in the State.

“Kerala not only took over the slogans of the renaissance but also made additions to them. The slogans for the economic and social progress of the group of people at the rock bottom of society were raised continuously here,” Mr. Vijayan said.

He said the country was going through a situation where certain people were getting upset even on hearing the name of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, who was the chief guest at the event, said that even today, caste-based atrocities were happening in top universities and educational institutes in the country. He said, though Kerala was at a leading position in making financial allocations for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) communities, the State had to face severe criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on how the amounts were spent.

Addressing the meet, BJP’s former State president K. Surendran said the narrative that people belonging to the Scheduled Castes were facing widespread attack in the country was based on fake data.

Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS) State president P.A. Ajayaghosh chaired the meeting. Revenue Minister K. Rajan, T.J. Vinod, MLA, and KPMS general secretary Punnala Sreekumar spoke.